


Six Is a Journey

by Mar_bel



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: FamilyAU, Our favourite family, brian is trying his best, child!gwilym, child!joe, modernau, pre-teen!rami, they all are, toddler!ben
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 03:05:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17973278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mar_bel/pseuds/Mar_bel
Summary: Brian and Roger want to adopt a child- little do they know that there are four at once waiting for them.





	1. A lot of work.

**Author's Note:**

> Lmao I’m sorry it’s bad

‘BRIAN! SHE’S HERE’ Roger shouts in a blaze of panic, the social worker is early, he hasn’t even put the flowers out.  
He starts rushing around, almost tripping on the bed post before Brian catches him.

‘Hey hey, breathe, okay?’ Brian soothes, smiling softly ‘we are getting a son’.  
Those five words turn Roger’s worry to excitement, yes, they are getting a son.  
‘Though, we need to answer the door first’  
‘Shit’

They quickly rush down the stairs, checking eachother to make sure they look presentable, and open the door with a smile.  
‘Hi Brian, hi Roger’ she smiles warmly, before stepping inside.

‘Coffee? Tea?’ Roger asks shakily, before she shakes her head kindly.  
‘I actually think we should get right to it. I’m afraid I have a problem’ she says, causing their hearts to sink as they look to eachother in panic.

‘What kind of problem?’ Brian asks.  
‘Well. The child we were planning to bring to you, nine year old Joe, is refusing to get adopted by you. Everytime we bring it up her cries and runs to his room. He wants to stay with his “brothers”’ she says in air quotations.

With that, a million thoughts rush through their heads. They knew about Joe. They had already fallen in love with the nine year old. Who are his brothers? Why did she put it in air quotations? Does he not like them? So many questions, so many needed answers.

‘Why did you put it in air quotes?’ Roger asks.  
‘They aren’t his real brothers. They had bonded in the orphanage. He knows that if he leaves, Gwilym, a boy his age, he will be lonely. He knows that Rami is getting older, and it’s unlikely he will get adopted. And he has just fallen in love with Ben. The four of them have bonded. It’s not a legal obligation that we keep them together. But we are just looking out for his happiness’ she says sadly.

Brian and Roger share a look, having a conversation with just their eyes.  
Four kids?  
Can we really go from zero to four kids?  
We have the room.  
No harm in asking about them.

‘Tell is about them’ Brian says, causing a look of shock to wash over her face. She was not expecting that. She was expecting them to turn it down, look for someone else.

‘W-well. Rami is twelve. His birth parents originally came from Egypt, he is fluent in Arabic. He doesn’t speak often, the only people who can make him speak are the boys. He is VERY protective of them, like Joe, he was born in America, you will notice that when he does speak. His parents moved him over here so that’s how he ended up with us.’ She says, showing them a picture of a boy, with pitch black hair and dark skin, with large green eyes. Roger looked over to Brian, this may be a challenge, but they have fallen in love with this boy already. They were becoming accustomed to the idea.

‘Gwilym is Joe’s other half. They are inseparable, like Ant and Dec. Gwilym has been in and out of the system for years, so he knows how it goes, though it has never dampened his spirit. Everyday we are in awe by him, everyday he wakes up with a smile, telling jokes, drawing pictures for all of the staff.’ She says, handing him a picture of a skinny, blonde boy, with a large cheeky grin.

‘Finally there is Ben. All of the boys are protective of him, as he is only two years old. He has been with us since he was born. We originally introduced him to Rami as we thought the introduction of a baby, someone to look out for would allow him to feel settled, and we were right. Ben has given all three of the boys a reason to wake up in the morning.’ She says, before sliding a picture of a young blonde boy, with large blue eyes across the table.

Brian places the picture of Joe he had kept in his pocket besides the other three, and him and Roger state at what could be their new family.  
‘It’s going to be a lot of work’ he says softly, not taking his eyes off of the four boys.  
‘It’ll be worth it.’


	2. Greetings are overrated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m not good at these, pls forgive me k thanks

‘THEY ARE HERE!’ Roger shouts, giving Brian a flashback to when this all started.

But this time they don’t stop to think, this time they are too overwhelmed with excitement to even stop themselves from falling down the stairs when they run. Because this time when they open the door, they will be parents.

’Hi’ Roger and Brian smile at the door, as the same social worker as before holds the hands of two very exciteable little boys, and just behind her, a young preteen holds a very sleepy looking toddler.

’come in.’ Brian says, blinking back tears as he stares at his beautiful new children. 

‘I need to do a brief examination of the house one last time. Is there anywhere that the children can go to play? My coworker will look over them’ she smiles, pointing towards a very sweet looking woman, who mustn’t be much older than 25. 

‘Yes, we have a toy room through here’ Roger says, guiding them towards a brightly coloured room, with rainbows and mythical creatures all over the walls and toys in every corner. The two middle boys rush in, running straight to the large play house, as Rami follows slowly, taking Ben towards the pile of teddies and helping him pick one out.

’let’s go shall we?’ The social worker smiles, following Brian and Roger out of the room. ‘So first, Ben. Let’s go through the checklist.’ She goes through the tediously long list, containing child proof locks and high chairs, as Roger and Brian show them all off, as if we were doing a haul.

’Brilliant. Let’s go see their bedrooms.’

Brian guides her to Ben’s room, which is a light, pastel yellow, Winnie the Pooh theme. She examines all of the furniture to make sure it is safe before nodding approvingly, and being guided to Joe and Gwilym’s room.

Joe and Gwilym’s room is like a playhouse. Bunk beds with a slide, a large climbing frame and a pillow fort. Every child’s dream, and the social worker couldn’t help but let tears fill her eyes as she stared at the sight, it was perfect.

Finally was Rami’s room. By now the social worker was fully crying, the two men knew of Rami’s anxiety issues, so they made a sanctuary. The room was filled with cushions, blankets and soft lighting, a place to relax, with a computer in the corner and action figures scattered around. 

‘Im sorry, it’s just these boys have filled our hearts with such love, it’s beautiful to see somebody showing them the love they deserve back.’ She says sadly, wiping tears from her eyes.

—-

’So, this is where I leave you’ she smiles, going back to the play room to collect her coworker. ‘Goodbye boys’ she says, her voice cracking slightly. ‘Bye Katie!’ Joe and Gwilym shout, whilst Ben repeats it, messing up every syllable. She looks at Rami who smiles at her slightly and waves.

’Okay, so if you need anything and I mean anything, then call. Thank you for this’ she smiles, before shaking their hands and closing the door behind them, leaving just the family.

The two men walk towards the play room, where the four boys wait expectantly. ‘It’s getting late now boys, who wants to order pizza?!’ Roger shouts, causing the three younger boys to cheer before Rami cuts in, his voice slow and tired.

’Joe is allergic to gluten’ 

‘Rami!’ Joe hisses back, upset that his chance of having pizza is ruined.

’what? I’m not staying up with you all night whilst you lie in pain.’ Rami snaps back, pulling Ben away from the window and onto his lap.

’it’s okay Joey, they do gluten free pizza!’ Brian exclaims, causing Joe to cheer again. Brain gives roger an expectant look that says _‘You talk to Rami, I order the pizza’_ Roger quickly catches on and walks up to Rami. 

‘Hey buddy? Can I talk to you outside?’ He asks.

’but Ben-‘

’Brian can look after him.’ Roger smiles lightly, making Rami sigh and follow him outside. ‘Listen bud, I know you have had to be a parent to these boys. But we are here now, and we aren’t going anywhere. You can be a kid now.’ He says softly.

Before he knows it, Rami is crying, but as soon as Roger tries to comfort him, he jumps away. ‘No’ he says firmly. ‘You aren’t my dads. I don’t even want to be here. When I found out Joe was getting adopted I was ecstatic, he was getting a family. But I was less than impressed when I found out me and the others were going to be adopted because we were a second choice. I’ve been hurt before and I am not letting them get hurt too. You never wanted us, you wanted a small, happy family with your perfect son. Not this. So I repeat, you are not our dads, you never wanted us and I won’t let you hurt us like everyone else has.’ Rami hisses through tears, storming up stairs, leaving Roger stood in shock.

He turns to see Brian at the door with tears in his eyes. This was going to be harder than expected.

The pizza arrives and they serve it out between the three boys, allowing Ben to finish before carrying him to bed in Brian’s arms, whilst Roger holds a plate of pizza, leaving the two boys to watch TV in the family room.

’Sweet dreams Benny’ Brian coos lightly, kissing his cheek softly, as Roger follows his action. Slowly, they place him into his cot, tucking him in tightly and turning on his nightlight.

Next step, find Rami. 

This isn’t too hard, as Brian and Roger both know from their own moments of feeling so completely alone, that the balcony is the place you go to clear your head.

They open the door slowly, as if opening it too fast will scare the preteen away. ‘I’m not hungry’ he says quickly, wiping away his tears.

’That’s a shame, it’s ham and pineapple. Gwilym insisted that was your favourite.’ Brian smiled, placing the plate on the ledge before sitting on the sofa next to Rami and Roger sitting on the other side.

’listen. You’re right. We didn’t originally sign up for four sons. We never expected anything to turn out like this. But that doesn’t mean we regret it. We could not be happier that our family has grown this much, and we couldn’t be more ecstatic at the beautiful sons that we have gotten from all of this. We aren’t expecting you to call us dad, we aren’t expecting you to accept us as your parents. But we do ask you to give us a chance. Because we will never hurt you Rami, we aren’t going anywhere. You boys are now going to be our entire world and we wouldn’t dare leave you.’ Brian says, not realising the tears slowly running down his face.

They all go silent for a moment, before they feel Rami sag and burst into tears between them. ‘I’m so scared’ he sobs, as Roger and Brian hold him between them, making him feel safe and protected.

’I know buddy’ Roger says lightly. ‘I know,but we’ve got you, and we aren’t going anywhere.’

They were right. This was going to be very hard.


	3. Mini-me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Dee for this suggestion! Ben gets a big boy bed and spends quality time with Roger.

Ben was having a nap, and Brian had taken the boys to see their uncles Jim and Freddie, which meant Roger got to spend the day doing some riveting chores. He was currently tidying Gwilym and Joe’s room, eyeing the bombshell before him, shocked that this was the same room he had tidied just yesterday.

‘Daddy!’ He heard behind him, causing him to drop all of the toys in his hands and turn around in one swift motion. Ben. He is out of his crib. That’s impossible. Unless..

Yes, it was time for Ben to have a big boy bed.

‘BENNY BOY!’ Roger shouts, running to scoop up his son as if he had just won the Olympics. He couldn’t help but become a little bit emotional, as this is the first milestone in his youngest son’s life he had gotten to witness. The milestone that meant his baby, was no longer a baby.

‘Let’s go get your hair brushed. It’s time to get you a big boy bed’ Roger smiles, pressing their foreheads together and completely forgetting about the chores he had previously planned to do.

——  
‘Wow’ Roger said, stepping into Ikea, with his son in the pram in front of him.  
‘Big boy bed!’ Ben shouted, causing people passing by to either coo at the young boy, or roll their eyes. 

‘Hi, could you help me out? I would usually be able to do this myself but I have a pram to push’ he said, smiling to an employee.  
‘Of course sir, what would you like? If you want you can order from here and we can deliver it to your house the same day’ the man said smiling kindly.

‘Oh yes please. Can I please have the white wooden toddler’s bed, the side railings, the white baby gate, the mattress that goes with it and the rustic bed tent?’ He asked, as the employee frantically tried to keep up with recording it all down. The last object wasn’t necessary, and it most likely wouldn’t go with the rest of Ben’s room, but he would be damned if his son wasn’t having a cool bed tent.

— —

After hours of crying, screaming, and some scolding from Ben for cursing, he had finished assembling everything, now just attaching the baby gate to Ben’s door so that he couldn’t get to the stairs.

Ben loved it, he was already bouncing furiously on it as Roger gave the gate a test swing. ‘Yep’ Roger thought to himself, ‘I’m a genius’.

‘Come on mini-me! Let’s go get some mac and cheese’ Roger shouted, lifting his son onto his shoulders as he carried him downstairs, placing him in his high chair.  
‘No no no’ Ben said, shaking his head furiously at being put in the high chair.  
‘Please, you’ve done enough growing up for one day little man’ Roger joked, but deep inside he knew it wasn’t a joke.

As they sat at the table to eat their mac and cheese, the door swung open, revealing a chorus of shouts and footsteps running towards the kitchen.  
‘DADDY DADDY!’ Joe shouted, hopping onto Roger’s knees.  
‘Woah! Hey there sport.’

‘Freddie gave me this!’ Gwilym exclaimed, holding up a Spider-Man comic book.  
‘Yeah and he got me this!’ Joe smiled, jumping off of his knee to retrieve the army helmet from the plastic bag in Brian’s hand. Roger laughed, his son had a large infatuation with history, especially the world wars.

‘What did he get you Rams?’ Roger asked, Rami looked up at Brian worried, but Brian only gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Slowly, Rami reached into his pocket, revealing three bottles of expensive nail polish, in the colours black, red and purple.

‘Woah lucky you, not cheap them Rami, would you like me to put some on you later?’ Roger asked, causing a look of relief and happiness to wash over his face as he nodded slightly.

Noticing Ben had finished his food, Brian walked over and pulled out a small Piglet teddie from Freddie, handing it to him. ‘Let’s get you to bed little man, I think it’s only fair that I read to you after daddy has hogged you all day.’ Brian laughed, as Ben reached up to grab at his curls. 

Roger stood up to give his youngest son a kiss on the forehead before whispering to him ‘goodnight little man, we had a lot of fun today didn’t we?’ Which caused Ben to giggle and nod.

Roger had decided not to tell Brian about Ben’s bed, waiting to leave it as a surprise. And boy had it been worth it.

‘OH MY GOD!’ Was all they heard from upstairs.


	4. Rocketman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwilym likes Space, this excites Brian immensely. Thanks to Dee for the suggestion.

‘Papa?’ Brian hears Gwilym from behind him, causing him to quickly turn away from his telescope.  
‘Gwil, why are you up? It’s bed time buddy’ Brian smiled softly, towards the alert looking boy.

‘I wanna be an astronaut’ The young blonde boy smiles brightly, causing a similar smile to be mirrored onto his dad’s face.  
‘Oh yeah?’  
‘Yeah! And daddy said that you’re good at space. I was wondering if maybe you could teach me about planets? I wanna go on one one day’

Completely forgetting that his son should be in bed, Brian guides him towards a large glow in the dark poster, displaying all of the planets.

‘Well. You see these four planets? They are rock planets. You can see earth right there amongst them.’ He says pointing to them, smiling lovingly at Gwilym’s bewilderment.  
‘Then what are these papa?’ Gwilym asks, pointing towards the last four planets.  
‘They are gas planets. You won’t be able to go to them I’m afraid bud, no matter how cool they look. But, you could go to the moon, or even mars’ he says, squeezing his son’s shoulders.

‘Woah’ Gwilym gasps, running his fingers across the poster as it illuminates his face.  
‘What’s this?’  
‘That’s an asteroid belt, that is between the rock planets and the gas planets.’ Brian says.

‘I love it’ Gwilym smiles back at his dad. ‘I’m gonna go there one day’ he says, pointing to Mars. ‘And when I do, I’m gonna think of you the entire time’ he says softly, turning back to the poster and leaving Brian in a state of pure love for his son.

‘Well. You can only go to space if you grow big and strong, and you can’t do that if you don’t sleep!’ Brian laughs, picking up his son and turning him upside down, causing him to burst out in a fit of giggles.

‘Come on, I will tuck you into bed. But we have to try and be quiet because the others are all asleep. Including dad’ he says, guiding his son back to his room and tucking him in. 

As Brian leaves the room, he hears Gwilym say something incoherent.  
‘What was that?’ Brian asks softly.  
‘I love it here. I’m so glad you adopted us.’


	5. I love you, dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rami gets bullied- all of the boys try and help. Thank you Iwannakahootmyself for suggestion.  
> I will be posting the boys’ backstories sometime this week <3
> 
> Warning- some homophobic language used

‘Hey!’ Rami heard from behind him, but before he knew it he was pressed up against the wall behind him. Todd.

Todd was a kid in Rami’s class, who for some reason just could not deal with the fact that Rami was Egyptian, or that Rami had two gay dads, or anything that Rami did.  
‘What’s this?’ He asks, holding up Rami’s hand to reveal the purple nail polish he was given by his uncle.

But Rami can’t speak, he doesn’t know if he should and he doesn’t know what he would say. He is powerless, and this infuriated Todd.

‘ANSWER ME!’ He shouts, and before Rami knows it, he gets a fist to the stomach, causing him to keel over in pain.  
‘Got anything to say gayboy?!’ He shouts to Rami, his foot making direct contact with his stomach.

‘HEY!’ Rami could hear a high pitched voice from the distance, and next thing he knows, Todd is gone. He doesn’t want to look up, doesn’t want to see the people who came to his rescue, but he has to.

He looks up to see Joe and Gwilym walking towards him, with Brian following behind with Ben in his buggie. ‘Great’ thought Rami. ‘Brian must have been using this route to walk the boys home.’

Quickly, he gets up and is met with hugs from his two younger brothers.  
‘Rami why was that kid being mean to you?’ Joe asks, looking up to him. I’m  
‘Don’t worry about it’ Rami smiles sadly to him, ruffling his hair.

Brian finally catches up and Ben is in a state. Tears and snot running down his bright red face as he looks to Rami in pure fear.  
‘Rami hurt!’ He shouts, crying even more.  
‘No no no, buddy it was just play fighting, don’t worry. Okay? I’m fine, see? I’m fine.’ He smiles, hugging his youngest brother.

‘Rami-‘ Brian starts.  
‘I’m fine. Let’s go home.’ 

— —  
At the dinner table, Roger can’t help but notice that everything is oddly quiet. Usually Ben was babbling some nonsense about the bug he saw that day, or Joe and Gwilym were talking over eachother in an effort to tell their family about their days.  
But now, all he can hear is the sound of forks scraping at almost empty plates.

‘Okay.’ He says, making the others jump.  
‘What’s wrong?’  
Before he knows it, Gwilym is crying, clinging on to Rami next to him who just looks so completely tired.  
‘Gwil? Brian?’ He asks, looking up to his husband.

‘W- I was going to talk to you about this later. But as we were walking down the street, some kid was bullying Rami. Physically.’ He said, looking to his oldest son who’s head was just in his hand.

‘I’m sorry what?’ He spat out.  
‘Roger-‘  
‘Who was this kid Rami?’ By now he could tell his face was read in anger, and this is probably not a side to him he wants his children seeing. But in that moment, he didn’t care, someone was hurting his son and he wanted to know who.

‘Joe. Gwilym. Can you please take Ben to the toy room to play. You can take some cookies.’ Roger put it in the form of a question, but Joe and Gwilym both knew it was a demand.  
As Brian unbuckled Ben, he followed his two older brothers, looking back at his parents and eldest brother sadly.

‘Show me.’ Roger said, his eyes now stinging with tears.  
‘What?’ Rami asked, looking up from his hands. ‘No it’s fine.’  
‘Show me Rami.’ Roger said again, firmly, whilst Brian just watched in pure shock.

Standing up, Rami lifted his shirt to reveal a cascade of bruises, some old, some new, covering the boy’s stomach and chest.  
‘Oh my god’ Brian muttered slightly, holding his head in his hands.  
But that wasn’t the worst of it, slowly, Rami turned around to reveal more bruises scattering his back, and a big, long gash going across it, that definitely has not been cleaned.

Now, Roger could feel the tears pouring down his face, but was too in shock to stop them. His little boy, was hurt, and all Roger could feel was as if he had failed him. He promised Rami he would be safe, and this doesn’t look like safe.

Slowly, Rami pulls down his shirt, looking at his two dads before running up stairs and locking himself in his room.  
‘I’m gonna kill that kid.’ Roger growls.  
‘No Roger, I’m just as upset as you are. But we need to be rational. We will go to the school on Monday morning and ask for a meeting with the head teacher and the child’s parents. Okay?’ Brian asks him sadly, and Roger can only nod reluctantly.

——  
‘Knock knock.’ Roger says, walking into Rami’s room with a fake smile on his face. ‘First aid kid, I’m practically Derek Shephard’ he says jokingly, walking up to Rami’s bed.

‘I’m fine, Roger’ Rami mutters, his head still in his book.  
‘That may be so, but that gash on your back needs cleaning in order to stop infection, and unless you’re like some mad contortionist, I doubt you can do that yourself.’ Roger smiles to him, making Rami just sigh and reluctantly take off his shirt, wincing in pain as he does so.

‘Ow’ he hisses as Roger applies the alcohol.  
‘Sorry, Sorry buddy, but it won’t take too long okay?’ Roger asks, and Rami just nods frantically through tears.

Soon, but not soon enough, Roger is done, and Rami goes to put his shirt back on, but as he tries to put up his arms he, he winces in pain.  
‘Here, here.’ Roger says quickly, helping get his son’s shirt on.  
‘I’m sorry’ he says suddenly, causing Rami to look confused.

‘I failed you. I was supposed to keep you safe. But trust me I won’t ever fail you again. I will do everything, everything to keep you safe from now on.  
I know you won’t allow it. But Rami, you are worth protecting. You don’t believe that yet but it’s true. You are worth protecting and I will do whatever it takes to do so because I love you, and you are my son. So please, let me help you.’ He says, wiping the tears from his son’s face.

He goes to leave, not expecting Rami to do anything else, but before he knows it, his son is hugging him.  
‘Thank you. I love you dad’ he says softly, and Roger returns the hug fiercely, his eyes stinging with tears as he holds Rami in his arms.  
‘I love you too son.’

——

‘Rog? Are you okay? Is he okay?’ Brian asks as Roger walks into the kitchen.  
‘He called me dad’  
‘He what?’ Brian gasps in disbelief and Roger just nods back.

‘Oh my god!’ Brian exclaims, running into his husband’s arms as they jump like school children.  
‘It’s happening’ Roger says shakily, ‘we are a family.’ He smiles, cupping his husband’s cheek and kissing him.


	6. Goodbyes are hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I got this chapter idea from a comment by Gumborandy- Rami’s story.  
> Rami- 8  
> Sami-8  
> Yasmine-11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~JUST A HEADS UP~ I’m updating a lot this weekend because I will be busy the next week. I will still be updating but not as often as I would like <3 Keep any suggestions coming and I will write them down for future use- thank you!

‘We have to agree to get adopted separately.’ Yasmine tells her brothers in the communal centre of the orphanage.  
‘What? No!’ Sami shouts to her, shaking his head roughly.  
‘I’m getting older and that is going to hold you two back from getting a real family, the families you both deserve. I heard some staff talking, a couple are looking into adopting you Sami, but don’t have enough room for me and Rami. I want you both to go to good homes, with me here, you will just be in the system forever.’ She says sadly, hugging a now crying Rami.

‘Mom and dad left us here over two years ago, I can’t let you guys leave me too’ he cries in his sisters arms, who is trying herself not to cry.  
‘Mom and dad left us here because they thought we would find a better life, it’s time to do that now okay?’ She says softly, bringing Sami into the hug as well.  
‘We will all find families much easier if we are separate okay? But don’t worry, it won’t be goodbye, we will find eachother soon.’ 

——

‘SAMI NO!’ Rami screams, banging on the door as he watches his twin brother get into another family’s car. ‘SAMI PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!’ He cries through tears.  
‘Rami please’ Yasmine says through tears, trying to pull her younger brother away from the window, from the sight of her baby brother leaving them.

‘This is all your fault! Why would you do this Yas, why?’ He cries into her shoulder as she holds him tightly.  
‘Sami is going to be happy now, yeah? And you heard what they say about twins now haven’t you?’ She says, plastering a fake, soft smile onto her face.  
‘No’ he says sadly.  
‘Well, twins have a secret power. It’s said that no matter how far away you guys are from eachother, you will always find eachother, eventually.’

By now Rami has calmed down, now just letting out small whimpers as he holds Sami’s blanket close, something he left to remind them of him.

—— *A year later*  
‘Rami, darling. A space has opened up in the care centre in London. If you go there, you have more chance of being adopted’ the social worker smiles to him, showing him pictures of the very brightly coloured building, as Yasmine looks at them too.

‘I don’t want to go, no I can’t leave my sister’ he says, shoving the pictures back.  
‘Rami, remember what we agreed? I will be fine, this place looks amazing, you promised me that you wouldn’t let me hold you back from being adopted’ She says, bringing the photos back as the social worker looks at them sadly.

‘See, look they have an xBox! She gasps, looking at the toy room. ‘Isn’t that cool Rams?’ She says, looking down to him.  
‘Yeah’ he replies, looking a bit less sad than before, which only makes Yasmine feel relieved.

—

Rami was now packing, tucking Sami’s blanket securely in his suitcase until his sister comes up behind him.  
‘Jane said that if anymore spaces open up at the new centre, I can come too and live with you. But until then..’ she pauses, handing him a bracelet.

‘This will mean I am always with you, no matter what’ she says to him softly, putting the silver bracelet around his wrist.  
Quickly, he turns around, and rummages around in his suitcase before handing her a small homemade card and his favourite toy train. Now, for the first time in a while, Yasmine was crying, holding her little brother, her only piece of family left, close, as if she would never let go.

‘Come on’ She says, smiling and wiping her eyes, ‘let’s get this suitcase to the car.

—

‘Okay Rami, get in, it’s time to go’ the social worker smiles happily, but as he looks back to his sister who is waiting by the door of the building, he drops all of his belongings and runs towards her, crying.  
‘No no! I can’t leave you please Yas’ he cries, hugging her.

‘Rams, shh no. We will find eachother again. I promise we will find eachother. But now you have to be strong, so, turn around and don’t look back. Walk straight to the car. Don’t look at me, don’t look at the building. Just go to the car. Can you do that for me?’ She says, shoving every bit of emotion down as far as she can so her brother can’t see.

He nods slightly, and does just that. He turns around and walks to the car, and doesn’t look back even once.

——

Rami still wonders what he would see if he did look back. Whether his sister would be crying, whether she would look worried. 

She never did end up at the centre that Rami was at, and he can only assume that meant something good, she got adopted. There are nights where he likes to imagine that she is living in a big, nice house, in a good school with a lot of friends. He likes to imagine that Sami has new siblings to play with, now has a big garden to play in and be free.

Sometimes, whilst holding Sami’s blanket close, and twirling Yasmine’s bracelet around his wrist, he imagines what would happen if he got to see them again.


	7. Birthday Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I got this as a request from Kate! It’s Rami’s 13th birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be my last post for today, but don’t worry! I’ve written down any requests and will continue to do so for the future.

‘RAMI IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!’ Joe screams, jumping up and down on his older brother’s bed in order to wake him up.  
‘Ugh, Joey, what time is it?’ Rami asks sleepily, rubbing his eyes.  
‘Like 7 am’ Joe giggles, running out of his brothers room.  
‘Jesus Christ’

——  
‘There’s the birthday boy! Happy birthday son’ Roger smiles, kissing his head as Brian cooks up some pancakes.  
‘Eat your breakfast first and then we can open presents’ he says, placing a plate of Nutella covered pancakes in front of his son.  
‘Presents? Really?’ Rami asks.  
‘Of course’ 

After more pancakes than any of them could stomach, Gwilym stumbles, holding the stack of presents and placing them clumsily on the table in front of the dark haired boy.  
Rami felt as if he was going to cry, all of the presents he got were so amazing and thoughtful, he especially loved his homemade card from Ben.

‘Birthday birthday!’ Ben screeches, lifting his syrup covered hands to grab at Rami’s arm. Picking up his baby brother, ignoring the syrup covering his new shirt, Rami felt pride in the life he has managed to have.

‘I love you Rami’ he says, tucking his head in his brother’s neck.

——  
‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR RAMIII! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!’ Everyone shouts, filling the room with cheers as Rami blows out all of his candles.  
‘Got a teenager on your hands now guys, whatever will you do?’ John asks dramatically, smiling at his nephew.

‘What did you wish for Rams?’ Gwilym asks, plopping down next to Rami on the sofa. All of a sudden, Rami’s face drops and Brian and Roger share a look. ‘That Tony doesn’t die in Endgame’ He lies, but somehow convincing everyone but his parents.

‘Great wish, come here, let me paint your nails birthday boy’ Freddie smiles, picking up Rami’s new silver nail polish and patting the space next to him.

——  
‘So, what was wrong down there?’ Roger asks, walking into Rami’s bedroom with Roger by his side.  
‘Nothing’ Rami smiles, ‘it’s just, if you tell a wish, it doesn’t come true, right?’  
Brian and Roger share a knowing look and sit down on the bed ether side of Rami.  
‘Even if it’s something we could help with?’ Brian asks.

‘You couldn’t. No one can’ Rami says, his smile replaced with a look of sadness and confusion.  
‘We want you to be able to talk to us.’ Roger adds, making Rami sigh and look to both of them.

‘I have an older sister. And a twin brother. I guess celebrating my birthday makes me wish I still had them. I wished that I could see them again, and that he would be having a good birthday right now- I pray he is having a good birthday right now. I haven’t seen him in almost five years, or her in almost four. I miss them’ he says slowly, his eyes now glued directly to the wall.

All Roger and Brian can do now is look at eachother in shock. A twin brother? An older sister? Did the agency not think to tell them any of this? So many questions asked with just their eyes and they couldn’t help but feel angry for their son.

‘What are their names?’ Asks Brian, now looking back to his son.  
‘Sami and Yasmine. We decided to get split up because no one would want to adopt us together. I guess that’s another reason as to why I was angry about being adopted by you. Because if someone could adopt me as a group of four, how come nobody wanted to adopt me with my siblings. Not that I don’t love the boys, I love them more than anything.’ Rami reassures, looking up at the two men.

‘Thanks for talking to us buddy, you’re doing amazing at it.’ Roger smiles, running his hand through his black, curly hair.  
‘Thanks dad, is it okay if I go to sleep now? All of that pizza has made me tired’ he laughs.  
‘Of course my dear, goodnight, and happy birthday.’ Brian says softly, kissing his son’s head before walking out the door.

‘You do know what we have to do now right?’ Roger asks after they close the door.  
‘Yep. We are going to find his siblings’


End file.
